Rahul accuses govt of stalling appointment of judges, says PM Modi's 'ego was hurt'

Rahul Gandhi has alleged that more than 100 judges, whose names have been cleared for appointment in higher judiciary, are still awaiting approval.

After targeting the Centre over pending court cases, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has now hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over appointment of judges to Supreme Court and High Courts. The Congress chief has alleged that more than 100 judges, whose names have been cleared for appointment in higher judiciary, are still awaiting approval from the NDA government.

Taking to microblogging site Twitter, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “ego was hurt” when the name of Justice KM Joseph was proposed for appointment to the Supreme Court. Justice Joseph had, in a verdict in 2016, overturned President’s rule in Uttarakhand as the Chief Justice of the state’s High Court.

Using hashtag #JudiciaryDemonetised, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Justice K M Joseph, overturned President’s rule in Uttarakhand in 2016. When his name was proposed for the Supreme Court, Modi ji‘s ego was hurt. Approval of over 100 judges, cleared for the Supreme Court and various High Courts are now on hold.”

Justice K M Joseph, overturned President’s rule in Uttarakhand in 2016.

When his name was proposed for the Supreme Court, Modi ji‘s ego was hurt.

Approval of over 100 judges, cleared for the Supreme Court and various High Courts are now on hold.#JudiciaryDemonetised — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 24, 2018

In 2016, the Centre had imposed President’s rule in Uttarakhand, toppling Harish Rawat-led Congress government in the state. The Congress had challenged the decision in the High Court, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing its power. Justice KM Joseph later quashed the imposition of the President’s rule in the state.

The attach by the Gandhi scion came after he raised concerns over millions of pending cases in courts and shortage of judges. Hitting out at Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rahul charged him with "peddling fake news" instead of strengthening the collapsing legal system.

"Legal system collapsing under Pending Cases: Supreme Court 55,000+, High Court 37 Lakh+, Lower Courts 2.6 Crore+. Yet, a staggering 400 High Court and 6,000 Lower Court judges not appointed, while Law Minister preoccupied peddling fake news," he had said on Twitter, using the hashtag #JudiciaryDemonetised.